Outdoor power generating apparatus

ABSTRACT

An outdoor power generating apparatus includes a housing including a generator chamber and a side wall portion, a power generation source configured with an engine-type generator or a fuel cell, a ventilation fan, and an exhaust passage provided within the housing and through which a gas within the generator chamber is exhausted to an outside of the housing as an exhaust gas, wherein the exhaust passage includes a sound absorbing duct formed by a sound absorbing material used for a curved passage, a weir member, a weir passage, a diversion passage changing the flow direction of the exhaust gas so as to be orthogonal to a direction along which the exhaust gas flows towards the weir passage from the curved passage, and an exhaust port provided at an end portion of the diversion passage and opening at the side wall portion so as to be exposed to an ambient air.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 toJapanese Patent Application 2010-136092, filed on Jun. 15, 2010, theentire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to an outdoor power generatingapparatus having a configuration of preventing snow including powdersnow and the like, rainwater and the like from entering into a housingof the outdoor power generating apparatus.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION

Disclosed in JPH11-200951A is a co-generation device having two ambientair inlet passages, one of which is used for natural conversionventilation for an engine compartment and the other one is used forforced cooling of the engine compartment in order to cool down a drivingportion of a forced cooling electric fan, for the purpose of prolonginga motor life. Disclosed in JP2006-09678A is a co-generation apparatushaving an engine compartment ventilation passage, which is incommunication with a radiator cooling chamber having a large fan, inorder to ease an actuation condition of an engine compartmentventilation fan for the purpose of reducing power consumption. Disclosedin JP2007-172946A is a fuel cell enclosure and a sound suppression panelhaving an inner wall and an outer wall, which are used for an innerapparatus, so as to form a double wall structure in order to increase asound suppression performance. Furthermore, according to the fuel cellenclosure and the sound suppression panel disclosed in JP2007-172946A,ambient air, which is used for ventilation, is guided to flow through aclearance formed between the inner wall and the outer wall.

Generally, an outdoor power generating apparatus is installed outdoor.Therefore, in a case where a weather condition is not moderate, snow(including powder snow), rainwater and the like may enter into a housingof the outdoor power generating apparatus from an exhaust outlet.However, the outdoor power generating apparatus disclosed inJPH11-200951A, JP2006-09678A and JP2007-172946A does not have asufficient configuration for preventing the snow such as the powdersnow, the rainwater and the like from entering into the housing. In acase where the outdoor power generating apparatus is not configured tohave the sufficient configuration for preventing the snow such as thepowder snow, the rainwater and the like from entering into the housing,moisture may accelerate deterioration of a member, a component and thelike provided within the housing.

A need thus exists to provide an outdoor power generating apparatuswhich is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of this disclosure, an outdoor power generatingapparatus includes a housing including a generator chamber and a sidewall portion, a power generation source configured with an engine-typegenerator or a fuel cell provided within the generator chamber of thehousing, a ventilation fan provided within the housing, and an exhaustpassage provided within the housing and through which a gas remainingwithin the generator chamber is exhausted to an outside of the housingas an exhaust gas, wherein the exhaust passage includes a soundabsorbing duct formed by a sound absorbing material used for forming acurved passage, which is connected to the generator chamber so as to bein communication with the generator chamber and extends so as to curve,a weir member provided at a downstream side of the sound absorbing ductin a flow direction of the exhaust gas, a weir passage defined by theweir member, a diversion passage provided at a downstream side of theweir member in the flow direction of the exhaust gas and changing theflow direction of the exhaust gas so as to be orthogonal to a directionalong which the exhaust gas flows towards the weir passage from anoutlet opening of the curved passage, and an exhaust port provided at anend portion of the diversion passage and opening at the side wallportion of the housing so as to be exposed to an ambient air.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, an outdoor powergenerating apparatus includes the housing including the generatorchamber and the side wall portion, the power generation sourceconfigured with the engine-type generator or the fuel cell providedwithin the generator chamber of the housing, the ventilation fanprovided within the housing, and the exhaust passage provided within thehousing and through which the gas remaining within the generator chamberis exhausted to the outside of the housing as the exhaust gas, whereinthe exhaust passage includes the sound absorbing duct formed by thesound absorbing material used for forming the curved passage, which isconnected to the generator chamber so as to be in communication with thegenerator chamber and extends so as to curve, the weir member providedat the downstream side of the sound absorbing duct in the flow directionof the exhaust gas and including the inclined wall surface, the weirpassage defined by the weir member and the weir frame, the diversionpassage connected to the weir passage so as to be in communication withthe weir passage, and the exhaust port provided at the end portion ofthe diversion passage and opening at the side wall portion of thehousing so as to be exposed to the ambient air, the exhaust gas flowingat the downstream side relative to the weir passage in the flowdirection is guided to flow in a different direction from the flowdirection along which the exhaust gas flows except for the downstreamside of the weir passage by means of the inclined wall surface, and theexhaust gas passing through the weir passage is guided by the diversionpassage so that the flow direction of the exhaust gas is changed to thedirection orthogonal to the flow direction along which the exhaust gasflows from the outlet opening of the curved passage towards the weirpassage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and additional features and characteristics of thisdisclosure will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription considered with the reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of aninside of a housing of an outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto a first embodiment;

FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration ofan exhaust passage of the outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment;

FIG. 2B is a partially enlarged cross-sectional diagram of a diversionpassage of the outdoor power generating apparatus illustrated in FIG.2A;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of asound absorbing duct of the outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the configuration ofthe exhaust passage of the outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the configuration ofthe exhaust passage of the outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment;

FIG. 5B is an enlarged cross-sectional diagram of a shuttering portionaccording to a modified example of the power generating apparatus of thefirst embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating an exhaust passageof an outdoor power generating apparatus according to anotherembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [Overview]

According to an outdoor power generating apparatus according to thisdisclosure, a sound absorbing material, which is used to configure asound absorbing duct, has hydrophilicity or water repellency on asurface of the sound absorbing duct exposed to a curved passage. An areaof an exhaust passage located relatively close to a generator chamber isformed to have the hydrophilicity. On the other hand an area of theexhaust passage located relatively close to an exhaust port is formed tohave hydrophobicity. Alternatively, the area of the exhaust passagelocated relatively close to the generator chamber is formed to have thehydrophobicity and the area of the exhaust passage located relativelyclose to the exhaust port is formed to have the hydrophilicity.

The curved passage is formed so as to two-dimensionally orthree-dimensionally curve. More specifically, the curved passage iscurved so as to from an S-shape, an M-shape, a W-shape, an L-shape orthe like. Furthermore, the sound absorbing material used for the soundabsorbing duct does not necessarily have the hydrophilicity or the waterrepellency. A diversion passage is defined by an inner wall surface of aside wall of a housing so as to lead an exhaust gas to flow downwardlyin a direction of gravity. More specifically, the diversion passage isformed so as to upwardly extend in a direction opposite to the directionof gravity along the inner wall surface of the side wall of the housingfrom the exhaust port of the housing. Furthermore, the diversion passageincludes a sound absorbing body formed by a sound absorbing material.The sound absorbing body has the hydrophilicity or the water repellencyon a surface thereof exposed to the diversion passage.

The diversion passage is defined by the side wall of the housing and adiversion member facing the side wall of the housing. In this case, whensetting a length of the diversion member in the direction of gravity asLA and a length of the diversion member in a direction orthogonal to theside wall of the housing (i.e. a size of the diversion member in adirection orthogonal to the direction of gravity) as DA, a valueobtained by dividing LA by DA may be set in a range from five to onehundred (including five and one hundred). Accordingly, snow includingpowder snow and the like, rainwater and the like entering into thediversion passage from the exhaust port may not be allowed to passthrough the diversion passage.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of an outdoor power generating apparatus (which willbe hereinafter referred to simply as a power generating apparatus) willbe described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5B of the attacheddrawings. The power generating apparatus is installed outdoor and isconfigured so that an engine 20 actuates a generator 22 (i.e. anengine-type generator). Furthermore, the power generating apparatus isadapted to a cogeneration system, which is configured so as to useexhausted heat of the engine 20. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the powergenerating apparatus includes a housing 1, which is formed in arectangular box shape and which includes a generator chamber 10 servingas an engine compartment (i.e. an engine room), a power generationsource 2 provided at the generator chamber 10 of the housing 1, aventilation fan 3 (see FIG. 3) provided within the housing 1, and anexhaust passage 4 through which heat and gas (mainly air) within thegenerator chamber 10 provided within the housing 1 is exhausted to anoutside of the housing 1 as an exhaust gas. As illustrated in FIG. 1,the housing 1 includes a first exterior panel 12 (a side wall portion)extending in a vertical direction of the housing 1 and a second exteriorpanel 14 (the side wall portion) extending in the vertical direction soas to be in parallel with the first exterior panel 12 while keeping adistance therefrom. An air intake port 120 is formed at an upper portionof the second exterior panel 14. The power generation source 2 isprovided within the generator chamber 10 of the housing 1. Furthermore,the power generation source 2 includes the engine 20 and the generator22. The engine 20 is configured so as to be driven in a manner where agas fuel or a liquid fuel is combusted together with air. The generator22 is provided within the generator chamber 10 of the housing 1 and isrotatably actuated by a driving shaft of the engine 20. Accordingly, ina case where the engine 20 is actuated and the generator 22 is driven inresponse to an actuation of the engine 20, an electric energy isgenerated.

Illustrated in FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the exhaustpassage 4 through which the exhaust gas of the engine 20 is dischargedinto ambient air (i.e. outside air). As illustrated in FIG. 2, theexhaust passage 4 includes a sound absorbing duct 5, a weir member 6, aweir passage 62, a diversion passage 7, and an exhaust port 8. The soundabsorbing duct 5 is formed by a porous sound absorbing material (e.g.porous medium such as urethane form), which is used to form a curvedpassage 50. The curved passage 50 is formed to be in communication withthe generator chamber 10 and so as to extend in a curved shape. The weirmember 6 includes a shuttering portion 61, which is provided at adownstream side of the sound absorbing duct 5 and which is made of asound absorbing material. The weir passage 62 is defined by the weirmember 6 and the shuttering portion 61. The diversion passage 7 isprovided at a downstream side of the shuttering portion 61. Furthermore,the diversion passage 7 is formed so as to change a direction of a flowof the exhaust gas (i.e. a direction indicated by arrows A5 and A6) froman outlet opening 50 p of the curved passage 50 towards the weir passage62 to a direction orthogonal to the direction of the flow of the exhaustgas (i.e. a direction indicated by an arrow A7, a downward direction ofdirection of gravity). The exhaust port 8 is provided at an end portion(e.g. a lower end portion) of the diversion passage 7 and opens at thefirst exterior panel 12 (the side wall) of the housing 1 so as to beexposed to the outside of the housing 1 (i.e. so as to be exposed to theambient air). Furthermore, the exhaust port 8 is formed to open at alower end portion 12 d of the first exterior panel 12. The exhaust port8 includes plural laterally-elongated holes 80, which are formed so asto extend in a lateral direction (i.e. a horizontal direction) whilebeing in parallel with each other. The exhaust port 8 further includesplural cover portions 81 for covering an upper portion of respectivelaterally-elongated holes 80. Additionally, each of the cover portions81 is formed so as to downwardly incline in an outward direction inorder to prevent the snow, the rainwater and the like from entering intothe housing 1 from each of the laterally-elongated holes 80. However, aconfiguration of the exhaust port 8 is not limited to theabove-described configuration example. For example, thelaterally-elongated holes 80 may be modified as vertical-elongated holesor round-shaped holes.

Illustrated in FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the soundabsorbing duct 5. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the sound absorbing duct 5includes a duct cover 51, a duct side wall portion 52 and a duct ceilingportion 54. The duct cover 51, which serves as a case, is made of metalor resin. The duct side wall portion 52 is lined at an inner wallsurface of the duct cover 51 and is made of a porous and sound absorbingmaterial (e.g. foamed urethane resin). The duct ceiling portion 54includes an air regulation guide 53 having an inclined surface and madeof a porous and sound absorbing material (e.g. foamed urethane resin).The duct ceiling portion 54 is fitted to an upper opening 52 u of theduct side wall portion 52 while allowing the duct ceiling portion 54 tobe attached to and detached from the upper opening 52 u. In a case wherethe duct ceiling portion 54 is removed, the upper opening 52 u of theduct side wall portion 52 is exposed, which may facilitate cleaning,maintenance and the like of the duct side wall portion 52. The airregulation guide 53 includes the inclined surface, which inclinesupwardly relative to the horizontal direction indicated by an arrow A3in order to smoothly guide the fuel gas to flow. As illustrated in FIG.3, the duct cover 51 includes first, second, third and fourth cover wallportions 51 a, 51 b, 51 c and 51 d, and a bottom wall portion 51 e. Theduct cover 51 also includes a fan opening 51 i opening downwardly so asto face the ventilation fan 3 and an outlet opening 51 p openinglaterally. The duct side wall portion 52 is made of the porous soundabsorbing material. The duct side wall portion 52 includes the curvedpassage 50 bending in multiple directions, a first protruding wallportion 55, a second protruding wall portion 56, and a protruding wallportion 57. The first protruding wall portion 55 protrudes towards thecurved passage 50. The second protruding wall portion 56 protrudestowards the curved passage 50 while facing the first protruding wallportion 55. The third protruding wall portion 57 protrudes towards thecurved passage 50 while facing the first and second protruding wallportions 55 and 56. The curved passage 50 includes an S-shape passage 50s, an inlet opening 50 i, and the outlet opening 50 p. The S-shapepassage 50 s is formed to be curved in an S-shape in a plan view. Theinlet opening 50 i opens downward to the ventilation fan 3 in thevicinity of an inlet of the S-shape passage 50 s so as to face the fanopening 51 i (which also serves as an inlet opening of the duct cover51) of the duct cover 51. The outlet opening 50 p opens laterally in thevicinity of an outlet of the S-shape passage 50 s while facing theoutlet opening 51 p of the duct cover 51.

Accordingly, in a case where the ventilation fan 3 is driven to rotate,the gas in the generator chamber 10 having heat flows upwardly in thedirection indicated by the arrows A1 and then in a direction indicatedby an arrow A2 through the inlet openings 50 i and 51 i. Then, the gasentered into the sound absorbing duct 5 is guided to flow in thedirection indicated by the arrow A3, in a direction indicated by anarrow A4, then in the direction indicated by the arrow AS through theS-shape passage 50 s while flow loss is controlled to be a minimum levelby means of the air regulation guide 53 having the inclined surface. Thegas is finally discharged from the outlet opening 50 p. Accordingly,because the exhaust gas flows three-dimensionally by turning multipletimes within the duct side wall portion 52, a sufficient flow distanceof the gas in the duct side wall portion 52 is ensured while achieving adownsize of the duct side wall portion 52 and increasing a soundabsorption performance including a sound reduction.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the first, second, and third protruding wallportions 55, 56, and 57 are provided at different portions at the curvedpassage 50 so as to face one another while forming the curved passage50. Thus, a flow direction of the exhaust gas flowing through theexhaust passage 4 is changed multiple times, so that the sufficient flowdistance of the exhaust gas may be ensured while achieving a downsize ofthe sound absorbing duct 5. Accordingly, the sound absorptionperformance including the sound reduction may be obtained. As seen fromFIG. 2, each of the first, second, and third protruding wall portions55, 56, and 57 is formed to have a sufficient thickness and so as toextend in a height direction (i.e., in the direction of gravity, adirection indicated by an arrow G). As a result, the first, second, andthird protruding wall portions 55, 56, and 57 have functions to forciblychange the direction of the exhaust gas flowing through the curvedpassage 50 and to reinforce the porous duct side wall portion 52.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5A, the diversion passage 7 is defined byan inner wall surface 12 i of the first exterior panel 12 constitutingthe side wall of the housing 1, and a diversion member 70 formed in athin frame shape. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the diversion member 70includes a frame body 71, a vertically elongated wall portion 72 and anopening portion 73. The frame body 71 is formed in a verticallyelongated rectangular shape. Furthermore, the frame body 71 includes aflange portion 71 a that extends outwardly. The vertically elongatedwall portion 72 extends in the vertical direction (i.e. in the directionof gravity, the direction indicated by the arrow G) so as to cover anopening formed by the frame body 71. The opening portion 73 is formed atan upper portion of the vertically elongated wall portion 72.Furthermore, the opening portion 73 faces the weir passage 62 so as tobe in communication therewith. In this case, when a length of thediversion member 70 in the vertical direction (i.e. the direction ofgravity) is defined as LA while a length of the diversion member 70 inthe direction orthogonal to the height direction of the first exteriorpanel 12 (the side wall portion) (i.e. a thickness of the diversionmember 70) is defined as DA as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5A, the lengthLA is set to be sufficiently greater than the thickness DA. The lengthDA corresponds to a size of the diversion member 70 in the directionorthogonal to the direction of gravity. The diversion member 70 isformed so as to extend in the height direction (i.e. the verticaldirection, the direction of gravity). A value obtained by dividing thelength LA by the thickness DA (i.e. LA/DA) may be set to fall within arange from 5 and 100, specifically, from 5 and 50, more specifically,from 6 and 20. The diversion passage 7 formed by the diversion member 70may be formed as a vertically elongated thin passage. Accordingly, thesnow such as the powder snow, the rainwater and the like entering intothe diversion passage 7 from the exhaust port 8 is unlikely to flowupwardly through the diversion passage 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the power generating apparatus is configuredso that the snow including the powder snow, the rainwater, and the likeentering into the diversion passage 7 from the exhaust port 8 isdischarged to the outside of the housing 1 from the laterally elongatedhole 80 arranged at the lowest position out of plural laterallyelongated holes 80. The diversion member 70 is formed into thevertically elongated shape in order to ensure the flow distance of thediversion member 70. Accordingly, in a case of an adverse weathercondition such as a heavy snowstorm outside, the snow, the rainwater,and the like entering into the exhaust port 8 may be prevented fromreaching the opening portion 73, the weir passage 62, the curved passage50 in the housing 1, and further, the engine 20 and the generator 22accommodated in the generator chamber 10 serving as the enginecompartment. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5A, when a length from alower end portion 8 d of the exhaust port 8 to a lower end portion ofthe weir passage 62 (i.e. a top portion 61 m of the weir portion 61) isdefined as H1, the length H1 is set to be greater than the thickness DAand smaller than the length LA (LA>H1>DA). As illustrated in FIG. 4, theopening portion 73 of the diversion member 70 faces the weir passage 62.Fundamentally, a value obtained by dividing the length H1 by thethickness DA (H1/DA) may be set so as to be substantially equal to thevalue obtained by dividing the length LA by the thickness DA (LA/DA).

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the weir member 6 is positioned at thedownstream side of the sound absorbing duct 5 and at the upstream sideof the diversion member 70 in the flow direction (i.e. the directionindicated by the arrow A5 and the direction indicated by the arrow A6)of the exhaust gas from the engine 20. In addition, the weir member 6includes a weir frame 60 having a rectangular shape, the shutteringportion 61 upwardly projecting from a lower portion 60 d of the weirframe 60 to the top portion 61 m, and the weir passage 62 positionedabove the shuttering portion 61 and opening laterally. The shutteringportion 61 may be made of the porous and sound absorbing material (e.g.a foam such as a foamed resin, a foam metal, and the like, or a porousmaterial such as a fiber material including a fabric and the like). Theweir member 6 is arranged in the vicinity of the outlet opening 50 p ofthe sound absorbing duct 5 so as to face the outlet opening 50 p.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a sound absorbing body 9 made of a soundabsorbing material (e.g. a porous foam material such as a foamed resin,a foam metal and the like) is formed at the diversion passage 7. Aporous material having foam cells intercommunicating with each other ora porous material having independent foam cells may be used as theporous foam material used for the sound absorbing body 9. In otherwords, as long as a surface of the porous material has porosity, a soundabsorbing property of thereof may be ensured and further, increased. Asillustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5A, the sound absorbing body 9 includes afirst sound absorbing member 9 f, a second sound absorbing member 9 sand a third sound absorbing member 9 t. The first sound absorbing member9 f is attached on the inner surface 12 i of the first exterior panel 12at a portion facing opposite to the outside of the housing 1 so as to beexposed to the diversion passage 7. The second sound absorbing member 9s is attached on an inner wall surface 72 i of the vertically elongatedwall portion 72 of the diversion member 70. The third sound absorbingmember 9 t is formed between the first sound absorbing member 9 f andthe second sound absorbing member 9S. Accordingly, the inner wallsurface 72 i of the diversion member 70 is covered with the soundabsorbing material except for the opening portion 73. As illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5A, the diversion passage 7 is formed to have an elongatedshape so as to extend in a height direction (i.e. the direction ofgravity indicated y the arrow G) between the exhaust port 8 and the weirpassage 62. Accordingly, the diversion passage 7 connects the exhaustport 8 of the housing 1 and the weir passage 62 so as to establish acommunication therebetween. In other words, the diversion passage 7 isformed to extend towards the weir passage 62 in a direction opposite tothe direction of gravity indicated by the arrow G along the inner wallsurface 12 i of the first exterior panel 12 (i.e. the side wall portion)of the housing 1 and the vertically elongated wall portion 72 of thediversion member 70.

In a case where the power generating apparatus performs a powergenerating operation, the fuel and the air used for a combustionoperation are supplied to a combustion chamber of the engine 20, therebydriving the engine 20. Then, the generator 22 is actuated in response tothe actuation of the engine 20, thereby generating an electric power.Air, which has heat emitted from the engine 20 and which remains withinthe generator chamber 10, is used as the exhaust gas and flows throughthe exhaust passage 4 in response to an actuation of the ventilationfan. More specifically, the exhaust gas flows from the inlet opening 50i, the curved passage 50, the outlet opening 50 p, the weir passage 62,the opening portion 73 and then to through the diversion passage 7downwardly in the direction of gravity indicated by the arrow G, therebybeing emitted to the outside of the housing 1 (emitted into the outsideair) through the exhaust port 8 of the first exterior panel 12 of thehousing 1. In this case, the exhaust gas flows in the directionsindicated by the arrows A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8 in theabove-mentioned order. An outlet cross-sectional dimension (i.e.across-sectional dimension of a minimal flow passage) of the weirpassage 62 may be formed to have an approximately equal dimension as across-sectional dimension of a minimal flow passage of the curvedpassage 50. The weir passage 62 is connected to the outside of thehousing 1 through the diversion passage 7. Therefore, the sound (thenoise) and the like may be avoided from leaking to the outside of thepower generating apparatus while lowering flow resistance. However, thepower generating apparatus is not limited to the configuration disclosedin this embodiment. For example, the cross-sectional dimension of thefluid passage may be changed to any desired size along the upstream sideto the downstream side of the flow direction of the exhaust gas.

According to the first embodiment, as described above, the soundabsorbing body 9 or the sound absorbing material is provided at theexhaust passage 4. Furthermore, the sound absorbing duct 5, which ismade of the sound absorbing material, is provided at the powergenerating apparatus. Still further, the shuttering portion 61 is madeof the sound absorbing member. Therefore, an operation noise generatedfrom the engine 20, the generator 22, and the ventilation fan 3 may bereduced. Still further, because the curved passage 50 is formed toextend in the S-shape when being viewed from above, a propagationdistance of sound is secured so as to reduce the operation sound, whileachieving the downsize of the power generating apparatus.

Furthermore, as is understood from FIG. 4, the diversion passage 7,which is provided at the downstream side of the shuttering portion 61,is formed to change the flow direction of the exhaust gas so that theexhaust gas flows downwardly in the direction of gravity indicated bythe arrow G so as to be orthogonal to the flow direction (i.e. thedirection indicated by the arrows AS and A6) along which the exhaust gasflows from the outlet opening 50 p of the curved passage 50 towards theweir passage 62. The exhaust port 8 is provided so as to be located at alower end portion (i.e. an edge portion) of the diversion passage 7.Therefore, even if the power generating apparatus is used under theadverse weather condition (i.e. under a condition where the weather isnot moderate), the exhaust gas from the engine 20 flows through theexhaust passage 4 and accordingly, is emitted from the exhaust port 8 ofthe housing 1 as long as the engine 20 is driven. Accordingly, in thiscase, the snow (e.g. the powder snow and the like), the rainwater andthe like in the outside air may be avoided from entering into theexhaust passage 4 from the exhaust port 8.

On the other hand, in a case where the engine 20 is stopped so as not togenerate the electric power (i.e. so as not to perform the powergeneration operation), the exhaust gas from the engine 20 is not emittedto the outside air from the exhaust port 8 of the housing 1.Accordingly, generally, in the case of the adverse weather conditionsuch as a heavy snowstorm and a heavy rain, the snow such as the powdersnow, the rain and the like may enter into the diversion passage 7 ofthe housing 1 from the exhaust port 8. Furthermore, generally, even in acase where the engine 20 is driven to idle, the snow such as the powdersnow, the rainwater and the like may enter into the diversion passage 7from the exhaust port 8 in the case of the advert weather condition suchas the heavy snowstorm, the heavy rain and the like depending oncircumstances. However, according to the power generating apparatus ofthe first embodiment, the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwaterand the like entered into the diversion passage 7 from the exhaust port8 is not likely to enter into the weir passage 62 unless the snow suchas the powder snow, the rainwater and the like upwardly move so as toresist against a gravity (i.e. in a direction opposite to the directionindicated by the arrow A7). Accordingly, the snow such as the powdersnow, the rainwater and the like are prevented from entering into thecurved passage 50 and further, into the engine 20 provided within thegenerator chamber 10. Furthermore, as described above, because thediversion passage 7 is formed to have a narrow passage (a thin passage),the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwater and the like is notlikely to move upwardly within the diversion passage 7 so as to resistagainst the gravity, even if the snow such as the powder snow, therainwater and the like enters into the diversion passage 7 from theexhaust port 8.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5A, the shuttering portion 61 includes anupwardly extending wall surface 61 a and an inclined wall surface 61 c(i.e. an inclined portion). The upwardly extending wall surface 61 a isformed at the shuttering portion 61 so as to be located closer to thediversion passage 7. The inclined wall surface 61 c is formed at theshuttering portion 61 so as to be located closer to the curved passage50. More specifically, the upwardly extending wall surface 61 a isformed at the shuttering portion 61 so as to upwardly extend from thelower portion 60 d of the weir frame 60 along the direction of gravityindicated by the arrow G. In other words, the upwardly extending wallsurface 61 a upwardly protrudes in the vertical direction up to the topportion 61 m. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the inclined wall surface 61 cis formed to upwardly incline towards the top portion 61 m along theflow direction (i.e. the direction indicated by the arrows AS and A6) ofthe exhaust gas. Accordingly, emission of the exhaust gas, which flowsfrom the curved passage 50 towards the exhaust port 8, is ensured. As aresult, ventilation of the exhaust gas, which is emitted from the engine20, may be ensured. On the other hand, because the upwardly extendingwall surface 61 a of the shuttering portion 61 is formed to as toupwardly protrude in the vertical direction from the lower portion 60 dof the weir frame 60 so as to resist against the gravity as illustratedin FIG. 5A, the upwardly extending wall surface 61 a ensures a blockingperformance against the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwater andthe like entered into the exhaust passage 4 from the exhaust port 8, andfurther, against a fine object such as grit, dust and the like.Accordingly, the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwater, the grit,the dust and the like may be appropriately and properly prevented fromflowing towards the curved passage 50 from the exhaust port 8.Consequently, a durability and a long operating life of the powergenerating apparatus installed outside may be increased. Additionally,the upwardly extending wall surface 61 a is not limited to theabove-explained example where the upwardly extending wall surface 61 aextends in the vertical direction. For example, as illustrated in FIG.5B, the upwardly extending wall surface 61 a may be formed to incline inthe same direction as the inclined wall surface 61 c inclines.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of a power generating apparatus will be describedbelow. The power generating apparatus according to the second embodimenthas a similar configuration as the power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment, therefore, the power generating apparatusaccording to the second embodiment achieves advantages and meritssimilar to the power generating apparatus according to the firstembodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment, only the differencesbetween the power generating apparatus according to the first embodimentand the power generating apparatus according to the first embodimentwill be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5A. The soundabsorbing material, which is used for the duct side wall portion 52 ofthe exhaust passage 4, the sound absorbing body 9 and the shutteringmember 61, may be formed to have a water repellent configuration havingwater repellency against moisture. In this case, for example, the soundabsorbing member itself, which configures the duct side wall portion 52,the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61, may be formedto have the water repellency. Alternatively, a water repellent film maybe laminated (layered) on a surface of the sound absorbing material,which is used for each of the duct side wall portion 52, the soundabsorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61. For example, a waterrepellent film, onto which a fluorine-based material is coated, may beformed on a surface of each of the duct side wall portion 52, the soundabsorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61. Accordingly, the soundabsorbing material, which configures each of the duct side wall portion52, the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61, mayinclude the water repellency against water. The water repellencyindicates a property of repelling the water. More specifically, thewater repellency refers to a property in which a contact angle betweenan object and a water drop is great. Generally, a contact angle θ of thewater drop on a solid surface is used as a reference (an index). Forexample, generally, in a case where the contact angle θ is equal to orgreater than 90 degrees, the solid surface is referred to have the waterrepellency (i.e. the hydrophobicity). More specifically, in a case wherethe contact angle θ falls within a range between 110 degrees and 150degrees, the solid surface is referred to have high water repellency.Still further, in a case where the contact angle θ is equal to orgreater than 150 degrees, the solid surface is referred to have superwater repellency. In this embodiment, the water repellency includes thehigh water repellency and the super water repellency.

For example, in the case where the snow such as the powder snow, therainwater and the like enteres into the exhaust passage 4 from theexhaust port 8 of the first exterior panel 12 facing outdoor because ofthe adverse weather condition, the snow such as the powder snow, therainwater and the like entered into the exhaust passage 4 may remainwithin the exhaust passage 4 as water drops without being absorbed intothe sound absorbing material, which configures each of the duct sidewall portion 52, the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion61. However, as is the case of the second embodiment where the waterrepellent material is used, the water drops on a water repelling surfaceof the exhaust passage 4 are easily repelled and moved. Accordingly, ina case where the power generating apparatus is operated while themoisture remains on the water repelling surface of the exhaust passage 4as the water drops, the moisture (i.e. the water drops and the like)remaining on the exhaust passage 4 may be forcibly and easily emittedinto the outside air from the exhaust port 8 of the first exterior panel12 via the exhaust passage 4 in response to the emission of the exhaustgas having the heat from the generator chamber 10 of the housing 1towards the exhaust port 8 via the exhaust passage 4. Specifically,because the exhaust passage 4 is formed to have the water repellency,the water drops may be easily displaced along the exhaust passage 2 inresponse to the flow of the exhaust gas so as to be emitted into theoutside air from the exhaust port 8. Therefore, a damage of a component,an equipment and the like provided within the housing 1 by corrosioncaused by the moisture may be reduced.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment of a power generating apparatus will be describedbelow. The power generating apparatus according to the third embodimenthas a similar configuration as the power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment, therefore, the power generating apparatusaccording to the third embodiment achieves advantages and merits similarto the power generating apparatus according to the first embodiment.Accordingly, only the differences between the power generating apparatusaccording to the first embodiment and the power generating apparatusaccording to the second embodiment will be described below withreference to FIGS. 1 to 5A. At least a surface of the sound absorbingmaterial, which is used for the duct side wall portion 52 of the soundabsorbing duct 5, is formed to have a hydrophilic configuration, so thatthe surface of the duct side wall portion 52 exposed to the curvedpassage 50 has the hydrophilicity. The hydrophilicity refers to propertywhere the contact angle θ of the water drop on the surface of the solidobject is small and where the surface is hydrophilic. Generally, thecontact angle θ being less than 90 degrees is defined as thehydrophilicity. In the third embodiment, each of the duct side wallportion 52, the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61,which are provided at the exhaust passage 4, is formed to have thehydrophilicity, so that the water drops are less likely to be generatedon the surface of each of the duct side wall portion 52, the soundabsorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61 of the exhaust passage 4.

According to the third embodiment, the sound absorbing material, whichis used for each of the duct side wall portion 52, the sound absorbingbody 9 and the shuttering portion 61 provided at the exhaust passage 4,is formed with a porous hydrophilic material. In order to increase waterabsorbability of each of the duct side wall portion 52, the soundabsorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61 of the exhaust passage 4,the porous hydrophilic material may be formed to have a water absorbablesponge-like property. More specifically, the porous hydrophilic materialmay be formed so that a ratio of foam cells that interconnect withneighboring foam cells is high. Furthermore, at least the surface of thesound absorbing material may be formed to be porous.

Even in the case where the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwaterand the like entered into the exhaust passage 4 from the exhaust port 8of the first exterior panel 12 because of the adverse weather condition,the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwater and the like may beabsorbed into the sound absorbing material, which is formed as the waterabsorbable porous material used for each of the duct side wall portion52, the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61 of theexhaust passage 4, as the moisture. As a result, an excessive amount ofwater may be prevented from entering into the generator chamber 10.Accordingly, in the case where the power generating apparatus isoperated, the exhaust gas, which is exhausted from the generator chamber10 of the housing 1 and which has the heat, passes through the exhaustpassage 4 and then, the exhaust gas is emitted to the outside air fromthe exhaust port 8 of the first exterior panel 12 while the snow such asthe powder snow, the rainwater and the like are absorbed into the soundabsorbing material, which is used for the duct side wall portion 52, thesound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61 of the exhaustpassage 4, as the moisture. In this case, the moisture absorbed into thesound absorbing material, which is used for the duct side wall portion52, the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61 of theexhaust passage 4, may be appropriately and properly dried by the heatof the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage 4. Accordingly,the moisture dried by the exhaust gas may be emitted into the ambientair together with the exhaust gas from the exhaust port 8. Therefore,the excessive amount of the water is prevented from entering into theengine 20, which is provided within the generator chamber 10. Stillfurther, the damage of the component, the equipment and the like mountedwithin the housing 1 caused by the corrosion thereof may be avoided.Additionally, because drying the absorbed moisture accompanies latentheat of vaporization (i.e. absorption of heat), cooling performance ofthe power generating apparatus in the vicinity of the exhaust passage 4,the generator chamber 10 and the like may be increased. As a result,excessive heating of the exhaust passage 4, the generator chamber 10 andthe like may be avoided.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment of a power generating apparatus will be describedbelow. The power generating apparatus according to the fourth embodimenthas a similar configuration as the power generating apparatus accordingto the first embodiment, therefore, the power generating apparatusaccording to the fourth embodiment achieves advantages and meritssimilar to the power generating apparatus according to the firstembodiment. Therefore, only the differences between the power generatingapparatus according to the first embodiment and the power generatingapparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described belowwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 5A. In the fourth embodiment, an area ofthe exhaust passage 4 located relatively closer to the generator chamber10 (i.e. a downstream area of the exhaust passage 4) is formed to havethe hydrophilicity. On the other hand, an area of the exhaust passage 4located relatively closer to the exhaust port 8 (i.e. an upstream areaof the exhaust passage 4) is formed to have the hydrophobicity. In acase where a length of the exhaust passage 4 corresponding to an entireflow passage of the exhaust passage 4 is relatively indicated as 100,the area of the exhaust passage 4 located relatively closer to thegenerator chamber 10 corresponds to an area (a length) of zero (0) tofifty (50) from the generator chamber 10, or an area (a length) of zero(0) to forty (40). However, the area (the length) of the portion of theexhaust passage 4 located closer to the generator chamber 10 is notlimited to the above-mentioned range.

The power generating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment may bemodified so that the sound absorbing material itself, which is used forthe sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61 (i.e. the areaof the exhaust passage 4 located relatively closer to the exhaust port8), may be formed to have the water repellency. Alternatively, the waterrepellent film may be laminated on the surface of the sound absorbingmaterial, which is used to configure each of the sound absorbing body 9and the shuttering portion 61. On the other hand, the sound absorbingmaterial used for the duct side wall portion 52 (i.e. the area of theexhaust passage 4 located relatively closer to the generator chamber 10)may be formed by the porous material so as to have the waterabsorbability, in other words, so as to have the hydrophilicity. Theduct side wall portion 52 is located at a position closer to thegenerator chamber 10 relative to the diversion passage 7 and the weirpassage 62. Therefore, in this case, the moisture flowing into thegenerator chamber 10 may be absorbed by the duct side wall portion 52 inorder to avoid the moisture such as the water drops and the like fromdropping into the generator chamber 10. Still further, a temperature ofthe exhaust gas flowing towards the exhaust port 8 from the generatorchamber 10 is generally and relatively higher at an area of the ductside wall portion 52 located closer to the generator chamber 10.Therefore, the area of the duct side wall portion 52 located closer tothe generator chamber 10 has a high drying performance. Moreover, dryingthe moisture accompanies the latent heat of vaporization (i.e. theabsorption of heat), the cooling performance of the power generatingapparatus in the vicinity of the generator chamber 10 and the like maybe increased. As a result, the excessive heating of the generatorchamber 10 and the like may be avoided.

Fifth Embodiment

A fifth embodiment of a power generating apparatus will be describedbelow with reference to FIG. 6. The power generating apparatus accordingto the fifth embodiment has a similar configuration to the powergenerating apparatus according to the first embodiment, therefore, thepower generating apparatus according to the fifth embodiment achievesadvantages and merits similar to the power generating apparatusaccording to the first embodiment. Therefore, only the differencesbetween the power generating apparatus according to the first embodimentand the power generating apparatus according to the fifth embodimentwill be described below. A fuel cell 28 is provided within the generatorchamber 10 of the housing 1 as a power generation source. The fuel cell28 may be configured as a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), a solidoxide fuel cell (SOFC) or a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC).Furthermore, the fuel cell may be configured as a low temperature-typefuel cell, a middle temperature-type fuel cell, or a hightemperature-type fuel cell. In a case where an anode fluid (e.g. ahydrogen gas, a hydrogen bearing gas and the like) is supplied to ananode of the fuel cell 28 from an anode fluid supply passage 28 f, andwhere a cathode fluid (e.g. an oxygen gas, an oxygen bearing gas and thelike) is supplied to a cathode of the fuel cell 28 from a cathode fluidsupply passage 28 c, the fuel cell 28 generates an electric power. Theventilation fan 3 is actuated in response to an electric powergenerating performance of the fuel cell 28. Therefore, the heat and theair within the generator chamber 10 of the housing 1 is emitted from thegenerator chamber 10 to the curved passage 50 of the sound absorbingduct 5 as the exhaust gas. Furthermore, the exhaust gas flows though theweir passage 62 and the diversion passage 7 so that the exhaust gas isemitted to the outside air from the exhaust port 8. According to thefifth embodiment, the sound absorbing material, which is used to formeach of the duct side wall portion 52, the sound absorbing body 9 andthe shuttering portion 61 of the exhaust passage 4, may be formed tohave the hydrophilicity, the water absorbability, or the waterrepellency. Furthermore, the sound absorbing material, which is used toconfigure the sound absorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61, maybe formed so that at least the surface thereof has the water repellency.Alternatively, the water repellent film may be laminated on the surfaceof the sound absorbing material, which is used to form each of the soundabsorbing body 9 and the shuttering portion 61. On the other hand, atleast the surface of the sound absorbing material of the duct side wallportion 52 at the portion thereof located closer to the generatorchamber 10 may be formed to have the water absorbing porous property, inother words, so as to have the hydrophilicity.

Other Embodiments

The power generating apparatus according to this disclosure is notlimited to the above-described embodiments and examples. The powergenerating apparatus may be modified and changed without departing fromthe scope of the disclosure. For example, in the above-describedembodiments, the shuttering portion 61 is made of the porous soundabsorbing material. However, a non-porous metal, a ceramic, a rigidresin or the like may be adapted as a material used for the shutteringportion 61. Additionally, the shuttering portion 61 may be formed toextend vertically. In the above-described embodiment, the diversionpassage 7 is provided with the first, second and third sound absorbingmembers 9 f, 9 s and 9 t. However, at least one of or all of the first,second and third sound absorbing members 9 f, 9 s and 9 t may be removedfrom the diversion passage 7 depending on circumstances. According tothe above-described embodiment, the curved passage 50 is formed tothree-dimensionally extend in the S-shape. However, the curved passage50 may be extended to form an M-shape, an N-shape, a W-shape, a V-shape,an L-shape, a Z-shape or the like. A porous material having the soundabsorbability but not having the water absorbability may be adapted.

According to the embodiments, the outdoor power generating apparatusincludes the housing 1 including the generator chamber 10 and the sidewall portion (12, 14), the power generation source 2 configured with theengine-type generator (20, 22) or the fuel cell 28 provided within thegenerator chamber 10 of the housing, the ventilation fan 3 providedwithin the housing, and the exhaust passage 4 provided within thehousing 1 and through which the gas remaining within the generatorchamber 10 is exhausted to the outside of the housing 1 as the exhaustgas, wherein the exhaust passage 4 includes the sound absorbing duct 5formed by the sound absorbing material used for forming the curvedpassage 50, which is connected to the generator chamber 10 so as to bein communication with the generator chamber 10 and extends so as tocurve, the weir member 6 provided at the downstream side of the soundabsorbing duct 5 in the flow direction of the exhaust gas, the weirpassage 62 defined by the weir member 6, the diversion passage 7provided at the downstream side of the weir member 6 in the flowdirection of the exhaust gas and changing the flow direction of theexhaust gas so as to be orthogonal to the direction along which theexhaust gas flows towards the weir passage 6 from the outlet opening 50p of the curved passage 50, and the exhaust port 8 provided at the endportion of the diversion passage 7 and opening at the side wall portion12 of the housing 1 so as to be exposed to the ambient air.

Accordingly, the outdoor power generating apparatus having aconfiguration by which the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwaterand the like is prevented from entering into the housing 1 may beachieved while ensuring the sound absorbing performance against thesound, the noise and the like generated due to the operation of theoutdoor power generating apparatus.

According to the embodiments, the sound absorbing material has thehydrophilicity or the water repellency on the surface of the soundabsorbing material exposed to the curved passage 50.

According to the embodiments, the diversion passage 7 is defined byusing the inner wall surface 12 i of the housing 1 so as to guide theexhaust gas to downwardly flow in the direction of gravity.

According to the embodiments, the diversion passage 7 is provided withthe sound absorbing body 9, which is made of the sound absorbingmaterial and which has the hydrophilicity or the water repellency on thesurface of the sound absorbing body 9 exposed to the diversion passage7.

According to the embodiments, the area of the exhaust passage 4 locatedrelatively closer to the generator chamber 10 is formed to have thehyrdophilicity and the area of the exhaust passage 4 located relativelycloser to the exhaust port 8 is formed to have the hydrophobicity.

According to the embodiments, the diversion passage 7 is defined by theside wall portion 12 of the housing 1 and the diversion member 70 facingthe side wall portion 12, and wherein, in the case where the length ofthe diversion member 70 in the direction of gravity is set as LA and thelength of the diversion member 70 extending in the direction orthogonalto the side wall portion 12 is set as DA, the value obtained by dividingLA by DA is set to fall within the range from five and one hundred (5 to100).

According to the embodiments, an outdoor power generating apparatusincludes the housing 1 including the generator chamber 10 and the sidewall portion (12, 14), the power generation source 2 configured with theengine-type generator (20, 22) or the fuel cell 28 provided within thegenerator chamber 10 of the housing 1, the ventilation fan 3 providedwithin the housing 1, and the exhaust passage 4 provided within thehousing 1 and through which the gas remaining within the generatorchamber 10 is exhausted to the outside of the housing 1 as the exhaustgas, wherein the exhaust passage 4 includes the sound absorbing duct 5formed by the sound absorbing material used for forming the curvedpassage 50, which is connected to the generator chamber 10 so as to bein communication with the generator chamber 10 and extends so as tocurve, the weir member 6 provided at the downstream side of the soundabsorbing duct 5 in the flow direction of the exhaust gas and includingthe inclined wall surface 61 c, the weir passage 62 defined by the weirmember 6 and the weir frame 60, the diversion passage 7 connected to theweir passage 62 so as to be in communication with the weir passage 62,and the exhaust port 8 provided at the end portion of the diversionpassage 7 and opening at the side wall portion 12 of the housing 1 so asto be exposed to the ambient air, the exhaust gas flowing at thedownstream side relative to the weir passage 62 in the flow direction isguided to flow in a different direction from the flow direction alongwhich the exhaust gas flows except for the downstream side of the weirpassage 62 by means of the inclined wall surface 61 c, and the exhaustgas passing through the weir passage 62 is guided by the diversionpassage 7 so that the flow direction of the exhaust gas is changed tothe direction orthogonal to the flow direction along which the exhaustgas flows from the outlet opening 50 p of the curved passage 50 towardsthe weir passage 62.

Accordingly, the outdoor power generating apparatus having aconfiguration by which the snow such as the powder snow, the rainwaterand the like is prevented from entering into the housing 1 may beachieved while ensuring the sound absorbing performance against thesound, the noise and the like generated due to the operation of theoutdoor power generating apparatus.

The principles, preferred embodiment and mode of operation of thepresent invention have been described in the foregoing specification.However, the invention which is intended to be protected is not to beconstrued as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further,the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrativerather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others,and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all suchvariations, changes and equivalents which fall within the spirit andscope of the present invention as defined in the claims, be embracedthereby.

1. An outdoor power generating apparatus comprising: a housing includinga generator chamber and a side wall portion; a power generation sourceconfigured with an engine-type generator or a fuel cell provided withinthe generator chamber of the housing; a ventilation fan provided withinthe housing; and an exhaust passage provided within the housing andthrough which a gas remaining within the generator chamber is exhaustedto an outside of the housing as an exhaust gas, wherein the exhaustpassage includes a sound absorbing duct formed by a sound absorbingmaterial used for forming a curved passage, which is connected to thegenerator chamber so as to be in communication with the generatorchamber and extends so as to curve, a weir member provided at adownstream side of the sound absorbing duct in a flow direction of theexhaust gas, a weir passage defined by the weir member, a diversionpassage provided at a downstream side of the weir member in the flowdirection of the exhaust gas and changing the flow direction of theexhaust gas so as to be orthogonal to a direction along which theexhaust gas flows towards the weir passage from an outlet opening of thecurved passage, and an exhaust port provided at an end portion of thediversion passage and opening at the side wall portion of the housing soas to be exposed to an ambient air.
 2. The outdoor power generatingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sound absorbing material hasa hydrophilicity or a water repellency on a surface of the soundabsorbing material exposed to the curved passage.
 3. The outdoor powergenerating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diversion passageis defined by using an inner wall surface of the housing so as to guidethe exhaust gas to downwardly flow in a direction of gravity.
 4. Theoutdoor power generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thediversion passage is provided with a sound absorbing body, which is madeof the sound absorbing material and which has a hydrophilicity or awater repellency on a surface of the sound absorbing body exposed to thediversion passage.
 5. The outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein an area of the exhaust passage located relativelycloser to the generator chamber is formed to have a hyrdophilicity andan area of the exhaust passage located relatively closer to the exhaustport is formed to have a hydrophobicity.
 6. The outdoor power generatingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diversion passage is definedby the side wall portion of the housing and a diversion member facingthe side wall portion, and wherein, in a case where a length of thediversion member in the direction of gravity is set as LA and a lengthof the diversion member extending in a direction orthogonal to the sidewall portion is set as DA, a value obtained by dividing LA by DA is setto fall within a range from five and one hundred.
 7. An outdoor powergenerating apparatus comprising: a housing including a generator chamberand a side wall portion; a power generation source configured with anengine-type generator or a fuel cell provided within the generatorchamber of the housing; a ventilation fan provided within the housing;and an exhaust passage provided within the housing and through which agas remaining within the generator chamber is exhausted to an outside ofthe housing as an exhaust gas, wherein the exhaust passage includes asound absorbing duct formed by a sound absorbing material used forforming a curved passage, which is connected to the generator chamber soas to be in a communication with the generator chamber and extends so asto curve, a weir member provided at a downstream side of the soundabsorbing duct in a flow direction of the exhaust gas and including aninclined portion, a weir passage defined by the weir member and a weirframe, a diversion passage connected to the weir passage so as to be ina communication with the weir passage, and an exhaust port provided atan end portion of the diversion passage and opening at the side wallportion of the housing so as to be exposed to an ambient air, theexhaust gas flowing at a downstream side relative to the weir passage inthe flow direction is guided to flow in a different direction from aflow direction along which the exhaust gas flows except for thedownstream side of the weir passage by means of the inclined portion,and the exhaust gas passing through the weir passage is guided by thediversion passage so that the flow direction of the exhaust gas ischanged to a direction orthogonal to the flow direction along which theexhaust gas flows from an outlet opening of the curved passage towardsthe weir passage.
 8. The outdoor power generating apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein the sound absorbing material has a hydrophilicity or awater repellency on a surface of the sound absorbing material exposed tothe curved passage.
 9. The outdoor power generating apparatus accordingto claim 7, wherein the diversion passage is defined by using an innerwall surface of the housing so as to guide the exhaust gas to downwardlyflow in a direction of gravity.
 10. The outdoor power generatingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the diversion passage isprovided with a sound absorbing body, which is made of the soundabsorbing material and which has a hydrophilicity or a water repellencyon a surface of the sound absorbing body exposed to the diversionpassage.
 11. The outdoor power generating apparatus according to claim7, wherein an area of the exhaust passage located relatively closer tothe generator chamber is formed to have a hyrdophilicity and an area ofthe exhaust passage located relatively closer to the exhaust port isformed to have a hydrophobicity.
 12. The outdoor power generatingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the diversion passage is definedby the side wall portion of the housing and a diversion member facingthe side wall portion, and wherein, in a case where a length of thediversion member in the direction of gravity is set as LA and a lengthof the diversion member extending in a direction orthogonal to the sidewall portion is set as DA, a value obtained by dividing LA by DA is setto fall within a range from five and one hundred.